JUDDMONTE WASN'T THAT BAD

It's tempting to endorse the general view that this year's Juddmonte International was a good race. After all the time wasn't that great. However NOTNOWCATO (39) did actually put up the fastest time on the York card, and he would almost certainly have run faster if CHERRY MIX (35) hadn't set such a moderate early pace.

My speed ratings show that Notnowcato's three fastest runs have all been on yielding or softer ground. His other big run came when he ran a good second to David Junior in the Eclipse. The logical inference is that he needs something which takes the emphasis off speed – either cut in the ground or a steep uphill finish – to produce his best. This pretty much rules him out of all the big international races that are run in the last few months of the season as they are run on dead flat tracks and invariably on fast ground. Nonetheless, next time he gets a bit of cut in the ground I'd give him a real shot of winning another Group 1.

MARAAHEL (39) only just went under, and it now seems likely that ten furlongs is his best distance. He's run quite a few good races at a mile and a half. But he's never run anything but a great race over ten furlongs and his best speed ratings have all come over the trip. He's now lost all eight group 1's that he's contested but is good enough to win something big on my ratings.

I think it was a shrewd move to lay off BLUE MONDAY (37) for seven weeks. This meant he was able to avoid the fast ground that prevails during the Summer months and be brought back to peak for an Autumn campaign. He did well to run a good third as all his six wins have been scored off a 36 day or less break. I'd bet on him coming on for this run and winning something big before the season is out.

Dylan Thomas (36) confirmed my low opinion of him by running fourth. He can run a bit quicker but he's not really a Group 1 horse if the clock is any guide. I'd be surprised if he won again.

LAVEROCK (36) ran as if he was unsuited by the relatively slow early pace. And looking back at my past ratings for him this does seem credible. Although he's excelled in small fields, all his best form has come in more strongly run races.

Cherry Mix was responsible for the moderate early gallop and this is surprising. As a proven stayer he'd surely have been better suited to a much stiffer test of stamina than he made it. Cherry Mix has a tremendous record in the latter part of the season when there's cut in the ground and has a good chance of winning a third Group 1 before the season is out.

FAIR ALONG STILL LOOKING GOOD FOR THE CESAREWITCH

Last week I wrote that I believed FAIR ALONG (39) was the best handicapped horse in training. I also suggested that he'd have a great chance in the Cesarewitch. I should also have noted that his low official handicap mark was actually a problem as he'd need to go up nearly a stone to be sure of making the cut for the big race. This is surely why his connections brought him back again quickly in another minor staying handicap in which the jockey allowed him to come home by a huge margin instead of easing him up in an effort to protect his handicap mark.

This run is probably enough to get Fair Along into the handicap for the Cesarewitch. But, if he does come out again before then I would not oppose him. And I still see him as a great prospect for the big race itself. He's now run two big Group class times in a row and is clearly just as good on the flat as he was over hurdles. Indeed, next season I see him developing into a Cup horse.

LONDON EXPRESS LIKES IT SOFT

LONDON EXPRESS (38) put up a Group class time to win a valuable 12 furlong handicap at York. He clearly appreciated the cut in the ground and had won by eight lengths the last time he'd run on anything but good or firmer. There's plenty of soft ground to be found at this time of year so London Express should be winning again.

RED ROCKS A MORE LIKELY LEGER CANDIDATE THAN YOUMZAIN

I 'knew' that RED ROCKS (37) was going to win the Great Voltiguer Stakes. His two fastest speed ratings were bigger than any of his rivals and the fact that he was the only entrant to have placed in Group 1 company looked highly significant. You can see this by checking the record of Voltigeur runners that previously reached the first four in Group 1 races from 1995

QUITO AS GOOD AS EVER

QUITO (42) ran as fast as he ever has to take a strongly run seven furlong Listed race on rain-softened ground at York. Clearly when there is cut in the ground and he gets a strong pace Quito is still a very hard horse to beat. This being so I'd bet on him winning again soon while the ground is in his favour.

LIGHTNING FLASH (41) ran a terrific race to pull clear of the rest and run Quito to a length. He'd won both his previous starts and is capable of winning pretty much anything on this showing. I'd like to see him go for the Prix Foret where I'd give him a major chance.

DUBAI BUILDER IS PATTERN CLASS

DUBAI BUILDER (36) was backward on his debut according to Raceform, ran green second time out and pulled too hard on his third start. But this big scopey sort finally got it together on his fourth outing to win a good nursery at York in what I rated Group 3 class time for a juvenile at this time of year. He's due to go for a Listed race in Germany in three week's time and must have a great chance there.

TAM LIN SHOULD GO FOR THE ARC

WINDSOR KNOT (40) and KHYBER KIM (40) earned good Group 2 class speed ratings from me when chasing home Tam Lin at Newbury. And they did so again when pulling well clear of their rivals to fight out the finish of a conditions race at Newmarket.

Make no mistake, these are very smart horses. They're both worth a shot at Group 1 company. But I suspect they'll be running well below that level in the immediate future. So they're going to be very hard to beat – unless they keep taking each other on.

Of course this race makes TAM LIN look even better as it confirms the quality of the horses he beat at Newbury.

I don't know where Tam Lin goes next. I'm betting it will be the Prix Niel on Arc Trial day at Longchamp as he's entered in the Arc and that would be the logical target for a top class middle distance three year old like him. Amazingly, no bookie is even quoting Tam Lin for the Arc at present. Then again, they're not quoting Lauro either who will surely be supplemented if he wins the Grosser Preis von Baden next month which looks likely on my ratings. Lauro is incredibly fast and has beaten Rail Link who is one of the Arc favourites. He got struck into when running below form in the German Derby.

TUCKER MUST WIN SOON

Much the fastest race on Shergar Cup day at Ascot was the Shergar Cup Mile won by PRINCE OF THEBES (40).

Prince of Thebes had been a good third to Spectait when that one lowered the course record at Goodwood. He may simply need fast ground but it's interesting to note that he has now run four times in single figure fields when the official going has had the word 'firm' in it and won every single time. He qualifies for more big handicaps, but I'd bet on his next win coming in another small field like this one. And that means he's probably going to have to step up to pattern company because there are few high class handicaps which feature small fields.

Runner-up TUCKER (40) looked a very promising horse last year and bounced right back to his best here on his second start for Walter Swinburn. It may be that the change of stables has revived him. Or it could well be he's simply at his best in small fields (11 or less) on straight courses. If the photo had gone the other way this would have been his fourth win in four tries over a mile or less in small fields up the straight. In any event, Tucker ran so fast here he'll surely be winning soon.

BIG RUN BY MULAQAT

MULAQAT (40) won the Group 3 Rose Of Lancaster Stakes in very fast time. This run makes him one of the top three year olds on my ratings.

It's easy to jump to the conclusion that Mulaqat bounced back to form because of the first time blinkers. But I suspect it was the good early pace that helped him more. In a small field where a slow early pace seemed likely I'd still be inclined to oppose Mulaqat. He seems to be one of those horses that pulls hard when he sees too much daylight, especially when the early pace is slow. Having said that, this was a big run by Mulaqat, one that indicates he'll be competitive in better company.

RAUCOUS CRYS OUT TO BE FOLLOWED

RAUCOUS (37) is a big, rangy sort according to Raceform. And he's a full brother to a Group placed horse that stayed two miles. So it makes sense that he would improve when stepped up to a mile and a half. And improve he did. According to my speed ratings Raucous ran a Listed class time to take what looked like a very warm maiden at Ripon from BEHLAYA (37).

Given his build, and the fact that he's trained by Tom Tate, it seems likely Raucous will go jumping some day. Meanwhile though there are some very decent stayer's races to be won with him. As Tom Tate said, he's “a lovely horse, who might win a Chester Cup one day.” I wouldn't disagree with that assessment and rate Raucous as a horse that must be followed.

Runner-up Behlaya has finished second to smart horses in Britain, Ireland and France. It's pretty amazing that she's still a maiden after 16 runs. I find it hard not to see her winning within her next run or two.

ENGLISH BALLET MIGHT WELL BE GROUP 1 CLASS

ENGLISH BALLET (36) won the Sweet Solera Stakes in very decent time for a two year old running seven furlongs. She'll need to run a smidge faster to take the Fillies' Mile but rates as one of the best candidates we've seen so far for that race on this showing. She might well be Group 1 class.

SRI PEKAN TOO SHOULD SCORE IN PATTERN COMPANY

When Paul Cole debuts a two year old at Goodwood it's usually a good one, and this proved to be the case with SRI PEKAN TOO (36). The colt improved markedly for the step up to a mile when winning a strongly run maiden on Lingfield's Polytrack. The performance was Group class on the clock and no doubt we'll be seeing Sri Pekan racing at that level soon.

Runner-up BEVERLY HILL BILLY (34) is a slam dunk to win a maiden on this showing.

TAKITWO CAN MAKE IT THREE

Since Britain switched over to all-electrical timing a couple of years ago a lot of horses have been denied the course records they ought to have been credited with. As someone who has timed thousands of races by hand I can tell you that hand times are on average half a second faster than electric times. This is because the electric timer is activated by the starter throwing the lever which opens the stalls. The human eye doesn't detect the runners leaving the stalls till about half a second later.

One of two things should happen. Either half a second should be added to all the old course record. Or two sets of record times should be kept – one for the old hand times, the other for the new electric times. This is the solution they went for in Australia.

I give this preamble because this week we have yet another example of a horse that should be credited with breaking a course record in TAKITWO (36) who won in very fast time for a class 5 handicap at Folkestone over seven furlongs.

Takitwo has now won his last two races and all three times he's run over seven furlongs on turf and looks very capable of winning again at what seems to be his specialist distance.

Runner-up YOUNG BERTIE (36) looks even more interesting from a betting standpoint as he's still a maiden after seven runs and his official handicap mark is only 61. On the face of it his form looks little better than that of a selling plater. But the clock says he has improved markedly.

It could well be that Young Bertie has just discovered his specialist distance. This would make sense as he's a half brother to Lucky Strike, the joint fastest sprinter in Germany. Lucky Strike's best trip is seven furlongs. Then again Lucky Strike has won over a mile too, so it could be that Young Bertie has simply been crying out for further than the six furlongs he was formerly raced over and will improve again at a mile. In any event he looks a slam dunk to win a race at this class level next time.

FERMION IS GROUP 1 CLASS

The Godolphin filly REUNITE (40) looked a good thing to take the Listed Chalice Stakes at Newbury. But although she again ran a time that ranks as Group 1 class for a 3YO filly she got beat by Coolmore's FERMION (41).

Fermion has now won both times she's gone middle distances and is joint fastest of her age and sex on my ratings. Her current Group entries are over ten furlongs but it looks clear that she's better at the mile and a half of this race. I'd be very interested in her chances in the Prix Vermeille or indeed in any race. She's awfully good if my ratings are any guide.

Reunite's connections said they might cut her back to ten furlongs following this loss. That would be a mistake according to my ratings which indicate she actually improved slightly for the step up to a mile and a half. I hope she takes up her engagement in the Yorkshire Oaks as she'd have a real chance on the clock.

INTRIGUED (39) ran a close fourth to the brilliant Divine Proportions in the French 1000 Guineas back in 2004 but missed all of last season. By running a good third here she showed that it was a good decision to bring her back for another shot at big races. She's entered up in five Group 1 races, three of them in Germany. So I suspect that trainer Sir Mark Prescott may be aiming to repeat the tremendous success he enjoyed in big German races with another filly, Albanova, in 2004. Intrigued doesn't need to improve much to give her a real chance of emulating her former stablemate, and seeing that this was only her second run in over 18 months, improvement does seem likely.

Fourth placed IDEALISTIC (38) seems to be at her best in high Summer. In fact she'd won all three of her previous stars in August, including the prestigious Queen Mother's Cup. She's entered in the Shergar Cup and looks a strong candidate for that.

RUBY WINE (38) has been unlucky to come up against Group 1 fillies in each of her last two starts. She ran well enough here to indicate she should take a Listed or Group 3 soon, probably over a mile and a half.

ROAD TO LOVE SMASHES TRACK RECORD

i was convinced that ROAD TO LOVE (42) would be forced to go off too fast thanks to the big field in the valuable ladbrokes.com stakes at Goodwood. So I felt rather smug when he surged clear early on, going like a bat out of hell. But instead of stopping as I'd expected he just went further and further ahead in the closing stages. He ended up lowering the treack record set by Moon Ballad by three fifths of a second – and it's worth remembering that Moon Ballad went on to win the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup.

The going allowance I based Road To Love's huge speed rating on assumes the ground was riding what I call 'superfast' at Goodwood (i.e. It was speeding up the runners by as much as is physically possible). So I can absolutely guarantee Road To Love is as fast as I've rated him. And that means he's the joint fastest three year old in Europe. This leaves me struglling to come up with a new theory to explain his losses, some of which have been by huge margins.

The best I can do at this stage is to say that Road To Love only just gets ten furlongs and doesn't do so at Newmarket because the lengthy homestraight and wide open spaces of the track prompt him to run too free. For the same reason he ran below form at sscot over 12 furlongs, didn't get home at Pontefract, the stiffest track in the country and failed to last on soft ground at Doncaster. I know, it's not a great theory, but it fits the facts. And it's a pity because the obvious target for Road To Love now would be the Champion Stakes at Newmarket.

Make no mistake, this was the fastest performance by a three year old in a handicap in at least a decade. Road To Love is a proper Group 1 horse.

If he were mine I'd be taking Road To Love to America where his kamikaze style of front running would make him almost unbeatable in the desperately slow run turf races they have over there. He'd go so far clear they'd never get to him. But wherever he goes he's now a real force to be reckoned with on fast ground at ten furlongs.

Road To Love's stablemate DESERT REALM (38) ran fast enough to have won almost any previous running of the race and has obviously improved for the step up to ten furlongs. His handicap rating is getting a bit high, but the Weight For Age allowance would still enable him to get in against older horses on decent terms in a big handicap like the Cambridgeshire. I fancy his chances of taking a race like that and would bet on him winning in pattern company before long.

Third-placed PEARLY KING (37) has now run in two freakishly strong handicaps in a row (he was eight lengths back in the King George V won by Linas Selection at Royal Ascot). He'd won his three previous starts beyond sprint trips and is fast enough to win a big handicap or a Listed race.

SPECTACULAR SPECTAIT

It's fascinating to consider what would have happened if SPECTAIT (42) had contested the Sussex Stakes instead of the Golden Mile. In my assessment he would definitely have won because the going was exactly the same both days and Spectait broke the course record while Court Masterpiece ran half a second (two and a half lengths) slower.

As I see it Spectait is a Group 1 horse. And this isn't the first time he's run really fast. He ran only a couple of ticks slower than this when scoring at Kempton a few runs back. He earned another Group class speed rating off a seven week break when off slow and getting into traffic behind the brilliant Echo Of Light on his run before the Golden Mile.

The question now becomes 'why has Spectait' ever lost? A horse this fast should have nothing but wins against his name below Group 1 class.

The only decent theory I can come up with is that Spectait is best around tight tracks. He did win at Sandown but that was in a 0-85 handicap. He's lost his other three starts on galloping tracks. He's won four of the last five times he's run on tight tracks, with that good run against Echo Of Light being his only loss. It's a reasonable theory but there's not yet enough evidence to be sure of it. It could be Spectait has simply needed racing experience and we shouldn;t read too much into his old form.

Normally a horse like Spectait would be stepped up to Group company right away. But since he's with 'handicap king' Sir Mark Prescott, one has to believe he's considering one more shot at another huge handicap prize. The races of this type coming up next month are the Grand handicap de Deauville (France's most valuable handicap), the Irish Cambridgeshire and the September Handicap at Leopardstown. Then there's the real biggie, the Cambridgeshire in October. The concern I'd have is that every one of these races is run on a galloping track. Nonetheless I'd think long and hard about opposing Spectait in any of them – or in any other race come to that.

DUNELIGHT (41) has done nothing but improve. He won in Group class time at Ascot on his latest run and ran even faster here to get within a half length of Spectait. This performance marks Dunelight out as one of the best 3YO milers. No doubt he'll be stepped up to Group company now, but that shouldn't stop him winning again.

PRINCE OF THEBES (40) ran a terrific race to take third. My read of his form is that he's best on fast ground around a turn. After all he's now won three of the four times he's run around a turn when the official going has had the word 'firm' in it, with this very smart performance being his sole loss. He's lost all eleven times he's run on straight courses. I'd want to be on him next time he gets what seems to be his favoured conditions. And, from a punting persepctive, it'd be nice if he had a losing run or two on straight courses in the meantime to build up his odds.

SIR GERARD (39) confirmed that he's a Group class three year old by running fourth despite meeting traffic from his near impossibly bad draw. The way he was running on at the finish makes him look a very interesting candidate for the Cambridgeshire over a furlong longer. But I imagine he's going to run in Group company instead. Indeed I note that he's entered back over this course and distance in the Celebration Mile at the end of the month. He'd surley have a great chance there.

YEATS DOES IT AGAIN

YEATS (41) won the Goodwood Cup in seriously good time for a stayer these days. A couple of decades ago this sort of performance was almost commonplace in Cup races. But nowadays so few horses genuinely get longer than a mile and a half that it marks Yeats out as one of the best stayers we've seen in years. Having said that, I wouldn't rate him as a slam dunk to take the Irish Leger. There are several horses around that I could see beating him there. One of them is Reefscape.

REEFSCAPE (36) finally got the fast ground and strong pace he needs, so I was disappointed to see him lose. I'm now beginning to wonder he's best on tracks with short run ins like Longchamp. After all, since his maiden win at Chantilly, he has never won outside of France's top track. But a more likely explanation is that he simply failed to handle the undulations and tight turns of Goodwood, seeing that he ran in snatches. If he does go for the Irish Leger I'd fancy his chances as my ratings still indicate he's the fastest stayer in Europe. And I'd want to be betting him to beat Yeats if the pair meet when Reefscape attempts to win the Prix du Cadran for the second time,

Runner-up GEORDIELAND (39) was a shrewd purchase from France. Over there my speed ratings indicate that all his best form came in strongly run races. Whenever he accounted the slow early gallop that's so common in France he ran below his best. The step up to two miles was clearly a good idea as the extra trip and fierce gallop enabled him to equal his lifetime best speed rating.

Geordieland's stamina makes him look a very decent prospect for the Melbourne Cup which is now his big target.

SOULACROIX LOOKING GOOD FOR THE EBOR

SOULACROIX (39) won a very strongly contested mile and three quarter handicap at Glorious Goodwood in seriously fast time. He's earned good Group class speed ratings from me on three separate occasions now and seems at this best over this distance. Basically the only times he's ever lost between 12 and 15 furlongs the early pace has been too slow or the going too soft for him.

I hope Soulacroix takes up his engagement in the Ebor as he looks to have a great chance in the race – far better than he'd have in the Mebourne Cup which is apparently his big target. He'll meet better horses in Australia than he would at York, and I still need convincing that he really gets the two miles.

PRESS THE BUTTON STILL WELL HANDICAPPED

PRESS THE BUTTON (37) won a good mile handicap in fast time at Goodwood, earning a Listed class speed rating from me. This was the third time the three year old has won in three starts on turf tracks where the going has been good or faster this term. Clearly he's improved since his juvenile days and is capable of winning better races than this.

THIS WAS A WEAK SUSSEX STAKES

There aren't many Group 1 races that regularly fall short of their advertised class. The Prix de la Foret and Maurice de Gheest, the Derby Italiano, the Middle Park and the Phoenix Stakes are the only ones that come to mind. Certainly the Sussex Stakes is not among their number. But there's no way I can rate this year's renewal of Goodwood's big mile race better than Group 2 on the clock.

The winner Court Masterpiece (40) had won just two of his previous fourteen starts in Group company. The second Soviet Song (39) looks to have deteriorated with age. And they were chased home by a motley crew which included a couple of members of this year's very weak group of three year old milers in Aussie Rules (37) and Araafa.

I had expected ECHO OF LIGHT (32) to win because he was the only runner to have earned Group 1 class speed ratings from me in his recent starts. But he had to be taken down early and probably went off too fast before finishing a moderate sixth.

I confess that Echo Of Light now has me puzzled. It could be that he simply boils over before a big crows and that this explains his two dreadful runs (here and in the Champion Stakes). It's possible he needs to be fresh in order to produce his very best. It could be that he needs to race on a track that favours front runners more than Goodwood (where pace-setters do very poorly according to the stats). And it might be that he simply requires a dead flat track. There's just not enough evidence to say yet. All I can say is that Echo Of Light has twice earned Group 1 speed ratings from me in his recent starts and merits serious consideration in any race he contests for the rest of this season.

NUMERIC RUNS A BIG NUMBER

NUMERIC (38) earned a Group class speed rating to take a good three year old handicap at Goodwood. He'd been denied a clear run on his first try beyond ten furlongs and pulled hard in first time blinkers on the second occasion. But he got it all together this time to beat some decent rivals.

Narola, the dam of Numeric has a terrific record. She's produced nine foals to date and they've all won, three of them winning or placing in Listed company. On this showing Numeric looks likely to be earning more black type for his dam in the sales catalogues.

Runner-up NEW GUINEA (38) had boloted up by seventeen lengths on his previous start and ran another big race to get within a neck of Numeric here. It's hard to say exactly what circumstances suit him best at this stage but he certainly looks worth following.

BEAU NASH (37) had finished miles behind in his last two starts, so I have to assume something was amiss. He ran fast enough here to win a Listed race or a good handicap.

COOL CUSTOMER (37) has run nothing but good races since stepped up to middle distances and put up another decent performance to finish a close fourth. His speed figures just keep getting. This coupled with the fact that he's now run six big races out of six at longer trips prompts me to think Cool Customer may well be capable of even better in time.

BORDERLESCOTT AN ABOVE AVERAGE STEWARDS' CUP WINNER

After looking at the stats In thought I knew how to pick the winner of the Stewards' Cup. I found that six of the eight fastest times in recent years had produced a winner from one of the three highest draws. With the going riding lightning fast it seemed that all one had to do was pick between the three highest drawn horses – Mutamared, Excusez Moi and Tax Free. All three came within half a length of winning the big race but somehow BORDERLESCOTT (40) managed to get past them all and win from a middle draw.

Borderlescott is a horse that needs to have cover in his races according to his trainer. So it's probably significant that he's won four of the last five times he's run in fields of 17 or more and lost all three times he's contested smaller fields since stepped up to class 2 events.

The Stewards' Cup has a history of throwing up future Group winners and Borderlescott looks like becoming another if his jockeys can find the right way to ride him in smaller fields. Meanwhile there's probably one more big sprint handicap in him before his official handicap rating gets too big for this sort of race.

OUIJA BOARD'S TIME NOT SO MAGICAL

The epic duel between Ouija Board (38) and Alexandra Goldrun (38) in the Nassau Stakes produced rave reviews. But the time indicates both fillies ran below their best. As I've mentioend before, I reckon Ouija Board prefers shorter run-in. However there was no real excuse for Alexandra Goldrun not going a bit quicker. Seeing that she hasn't run a really big speed rating in a year and has lost all but one of her last eight races I'm beginning to wonder whether Alexander Goldrun might not have deteriorated with age.

Fourth placed CHELSEA ROSE (35) also ran below form. It could well be that she prefers a more galloping track as she's run a whole bunch of big races at Leopardstown and the Curragh. For this reason I'd like to see her take up her engagement in the Yorkshire Oaks where she might well be capable of springing an upset at big odds.

DUKE OF MARMALADE GETTING INTERESTING

I gave STRATEGIC PRINCE (27) a Group 1 speed rating for his win in the July Stakes, and he showed that he merited that assessment when taking the Group 2 Vintage Stakes at Goodwood in great style. Unfortunately the first couple of furlongs were run slow – possibly because Silent Waves took the jcokeys by surprise by not making the running as expected. This hurt the final time. Nonetheless Strategic Prince impressed by moving ominously well through the race and going clear quickly when asked.

Thanks to the moderate early pace Strategic Prince was able to sprint the last couple of furlongs. So it was a particularly good effort on the part of DUKE OF MARMALADE (27) to gain so much ground on him in the closing stages. Watching the race between the pair it felt like one was seeing a Guineas prospect in the winner and a Derby candidate in Duke Of Marmalade. Duke Of Marmalade certainly ran like he was wanting longer than the seven furlongs and has to be an interesting candidate for the Racing Post Trophy.

DOCTOR BROWN IS PATTERN CLASS

DOCTOR BROWN (34) cruised home on his racecourse debut in what is Listed class time for a juvenile. He looks an interesting prospect but I need to see more before I can figure out how fast he really is and what circumstances suit him best.

LADY BAHIA SMART IN SMALL FIELDS

LADY BAHIA (39) ran a seriously good time to win a low grade sprint handicap at Hamilton. I suspect that the reason all her wins have come in fields of ten or less is that she gets spooked into starting slowly by the presence of more runners surrounding her in the stalls. She looks a good proposition to win several more races like this in the near future when she gets a small field.

THE KIDDYKID CAN WIN AGAIN

THE KIDDYKID (40) won a hot little Listed race at Chester in Group 2 class time. He actually won a Group 2 last year and is capable of winning again in that grade on this run. It looks likely that he's best on dead flat tracks at less than seven furlongs in fields of 11 or less. He's won six of the fifteen times he's run in these circumstances and run several big races in defeat. He has yet to win in 21 tries in bigger fields or on tracks with any gradient. It's also interesting to note that his last three wins have come off a break of four weeks or more.

INDIAN MAIDEN (39) might well have won if she'd made her run earlier and not had to come wide. Indeed I'd thought she was a certainty. Prior to this race Indian Maiden had run nine times around a turn or a dog leg in fields of eleven or less at five or six furlongs when she'd had a vaguely recent run. And she'd won nine times out of nine. Whatever the going, whether it was grass or AW, off a slow pace or a strong one she'd always managed to find a way to win – but not this time.

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE PUNTER

CHICKEN SOUP (38) ran away with a class 3 handicap at Chester in Group 3 time. He's clearly a very progressive horse and might well have won four of the last five times he's run 7.5 furlongs or a mile with better racing luck – and all three times he's run for his new yard. Even with a huge penalty he'd still be very well handicapped and has surely not stopped winning yet.

ZENDARO BETTER THAN A SELLING PLATER

One of my faourite bets is when a horse run a fast time in a selling race and then steps up to handicap company. However fast they ran punters invariably under-rate them, so they make excellent bets. A case in point is ZENDARO ( 35) who won a seller at Muselburgh in ramarkably fast time for the grade.

This was only Zendaro's third start of the year and my ratings say he has improved markedly for some reason. I like his chances of winning a class 4 or 5 handicap next time at nice odds.

IL PENSEROSO SHOULD KEEP ON WINNING

I mentioned IL PENSEROSO (36) here after he'd won his last start at Perth. Now I've got to mention him again because he's gone and won a Stratford chase in equally good time. He remains unbeaten in three starts since joining Alison Thorpe and is still eligible for races well below his true class. He's going to be tough to beat while the going remains firm and the opposition soft during the Summer.